If It Can Go Wrong, It Will
by ryankrage77
Summary: The beginning of a fic I wrote around christmas time. Got bored revising, so I added a few hundred words today and uploaded. The Yeerks are targeting high-profile politicians, so Ax, Tobias and Eric go on a mission to Washington! I'm british, and not a 90's kid, and I have no idea what America is like, so it may not have that 90's America feeling. I will continue if there is demand


Animorphs fanfic! Yay!

Tobias POV (cos he's so epic)

life is funny.

I don't mean funny as in 'ha-ha'. I mean strange, peculiar.

Me and my friends are an example of just how funny life can be.

It started when we rook a shortcut through an abandoned construction site. This was where we met Elfangor, an Andalite, who had crash landed on earth. The Andalites are an alien race, and Elfangor had been attacked by an enemy alien race, the Yeerks. The Yeerks, it turned out, were secretly invading earth. So Elfangor gave us something that is both a blessing and a curse, a power. The power to morph, to turn into any animal we could touch.

Visser three, the highest ranking Yeerk on earth, then killed Elfangor right in front of us.

And now the fate of the entire planet is in our hands - Jake, Marco, Rachel, Cassie and me, Tobias.

Our first mission was a near disaster. In an attempt to rescue people from the Yeerk pool, the Yeerks realised they had an enemy on earth, and I became trapped in morph. That is one of the reasons morphing is a curse - stay in morph for longer than two hours, and you get stuck.

It's not all doom and gloom though. We also have an Andalite friend with us, Ax.

I got my morphing ability back, thanks to an all-powerful being known as the Ellimist. My main form is a red-tailed hawk, but I can morph my human self.

And we have a network of ancient androids on our side, the Chee. They could easily take on the Yeerks, but their programming prevents them from doing anything violent, so they find information and get us 'to do their dirty work', as Marco puts it.

This was why Erik, our main Chee contact, was with us.

I was perched on the rafters in Cassie's barn, our HQ.

Ax was in bis human morph, and Erik looked like a normal teenage human, thanks to his holographic cloak. Underneath, he looked like a humanoid robot dog.

"It's not good news, I'm afraid." Said Erik.

"Don't worry, we haven't heard good news in so long it's just a distant rumour." joked Marco, with his usual happy-go-lucky attitude.

"The Yeerks have started aggressively targeting high-profile humans, particularly politicians. If they infest the president..."

Yeerks are parasites. They slither into a hosts auditory canal, wrap around their brain, and take control of their bodies. The host is helpless to do anything but watch.

If the president got infested, the Yeerk in his head could make him do anything - particularly things that would help the Yeerks. The war we were fighting could be over in a week.

"Their next target is Arnold Hallock. They plan to sneak a Yeerk through his window while he sleeps. The Yeerk then crawls across the room, and infests him in his sleep."

So we have to stop them? I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"Yes. It's nice and simple for a change. One of you hide in Arnold's room, let them plant the Yeerk, and then stop it before it reaches Arnold."

Cassie spoke up. "That sounds too easy."

"I agree. What's the catch?" Said Jake, our unofficial leader.

"They are targeting lots of other politicians, one every night for the foreseeable future."

"So we need a more permanent solution." Said Jake wearily. "Ideas, anyone?"

Rachel, as usual, had the most violent idea.

"Attack a few politicians, and then they'll beef up their security."

I started preening. Marco would disagree, and the resulting argument could last for hours.

"That won't stop them. They'll just wait, or do something more drastic." Said Marco, as expected.

"Well, do you have a better idea?" Retorted Rachel.

I do. Or rather, Erik does. I interrupted

"I do?" Said Erik surprise showing on his holographic face.

Yes. We stick to your original plan.

"I can see where you're going Tobias, but we can't do that indefinitely."

Why not?

"Because the Yeerks will realise, and set a trap for whoever catches the Yeerk."

I stopped preening and explained.

Think. How would they know the Yeerk failed to infest the target? They wouldn't, at least for three days. That means we'll always be three days ahead of them. They'll think the first Yeerk just got lost, they'll get suspicious about the second, and won't start to do anything until the third. That's six politicians saved before the Yeerks know what's happening.

Everyone stared at me. I went back to preening.

Jake was the first to speak. "That, Tobias... is genius. Vote?"

Voting was the standard way of making decisions for us.

I vote for, obviously

"I'm in." Said Marco.

"I'm for." Agreed Cassie

"As am I." Agreed Jake. "Ax?"

'I believe Tobias is right."

Rachel was thinking hard.

"I'm in," she said slowly. "but I think after six days we should use my idea to buy us some more time."

Jake straightened up. "Then it's agreed. We use Erik's plan. We'll vote on your idea, Rachel, nearer the time. Now, who's going to kidnap the Yeerk? Any volunteers?"

No one said anything.

"Drawing straws it is."

Cassie picked up six bits of straw, snapped one in half, and held them in her fist.

Jake drew first. Long straw. Then Ax, Marco, and Cassie. I flew down from my perch and landed on Cassie's wrist before Rachel could draw. I would rather endanger myself than put Rachel at risk.

I also knew which one was the short straw, thanks to my raptor vision. Trying not to hurt Cassie with my talons, I deliberately took the short straw in my beak and pulled it out.

"You don't have to do it every night, Tobias." Jake said.

No, it's fine. You guys have stuff to during the day. It's better I lose sleep than you.

"If you're sure." Said Jake.

I was.

The next problem was getting into Arnold's room undiscovered. He lived in Washington DC, On the other side of the USA. Erik informed me that it would be a 2 day drive or 6 hour plane flight. We couldn't afford a plane, and the Yeerks were making their move tomorrow. That meant driving, and I had to leave _right now_ , because it was already afternoon.

Erik went to get a car, and I said goodbye to the others.

"Come back in one piece, bird-brain." said Rachel. I think she wanted to hug me, but I was in hawk form, and still perched on Cassie's wrist.

"Yeah," said Marco. "I need someone to irritate with my jokes."

Jeez, guys. Anyone would think I was leaving for a year. I'll be back next week.

"Even so, take care" said Ax. And then he ruined the moment by trying out sounds again. "aah-arr-re. k. ca-are. The R's tickle."

Bye, Ax. I'll see you in a week.

"Good luck, Tobias." said Jake.

Thanks. Make sure Rachel doesn't kill Marco. That would be annoying.

A few chuckles.

I looked over my shoulder at Cassie. Many people don't realise that owls aren't the only birds of prey able to turn their heads more than any human.

Bye, Cassie.

She smiled. "See you, Tobias."

I took off and flew past the rafters and out the missing slat in the barns roof, and scanned the ground for Erik. He was waiting by a beige Cadillac – how he got one so fast was a mystery to me. It's a good job he can't be violent...

I banked and flew down to him, landing on his outstretched fist.

"Which form will you be in for the trip?" he asked.

Erm... I'll follow the car from the air until I get tired, and then I'll morph and join you.

I took off and started circling, looking for a thermal.

Just at that moment, Ax ran out in his human morph. He ran over to Erik, who wound down the window and stuck his head out. They talked for a few minutes, and then Ax got in the car.

The others had gathered outside, and started waving, just as I caught a thermal.

Bye! I thought-shouted, But I couldn't tell if they heard me.

The Cadillac drove down the track to the road, and I started following it.

There is no feeling in the world quite like flying.

I imagine it would be cool superman-style, but as a hawk, it's far better.

In many ways, it's like a dance. A dance with the wind. A dance of freedom.

And with my raptor eyes, I could see every detail for miles. Following the Cadillac wasn't a problem, in terms of knowing where it was.

Keeping up, however, was.

They say that the shortest route is 'as the crow flies'. This might be true, but I can see why it's not 'as the hawk flies'. Normally, on the way to a destination, I would circle, glide and soar, but the Cadillac was doing 70 on the freeway, so I had to go in a straight line.

The only time hawks are good at flying in a straight line is when we dive – at near a 100 miles an hour, I might add. To go straight and _level_ , however, I had to flap. Hard.

Within half an hour, I was exhausted.

Erik? I'm going to get in the car now.

The Cadillac abruptly pulled onto the hard shoulder, and slowed to a halt next to some trees on the side of the road. I landed behind the trees, and morphed to my human self.

On the cold, lonely nights in my meadow, when I'm hiding from the owls in a hollow in some tree, seriously considering going to Rachel's for the night, wondering why I chose to stay as a hawk, I only have to think about morphing my human self to convince myself that being a hawk is awesome.

I'm used to relying on my hawk senses, so when I morph human, I feel... crippled. Like I'm grounded, half-blind and deaf.

But I morphed human anyway.

Morphing is pretty gross. My bones grew and changed shape, some new ones appearing and a few old ones disappearing, making horrible creaking sounds.

I could _feel_ my internal organs growing and rearranging themselves, adding to the orchestra of grossness with a sound like a slug being stepped on in slow motion.

My feathers flattened and changed into skin, while my beak shrank back into my face, turning into a mouth and nose. My eyesight became blurry as my eyeballs changed back into human ones, and sound became dulled as ears sprouted from my head.

Thank goodness I was hidden behind the trees. I could have given every driver that passed a heart attack.

And then I was human again. I got into the back of the car, and we continued driving. I set the alarm on the watch Ax handed me for an hour and forty-five minutes.

"So how come you're here, Ax?" I asked as I did this.

"I decided to come with you, for backup. Jake approved." he replied.

It made sense. Ax would only be missed by the other Animorphs, so he was the only person (or rather, Andalite) that could help.

And I would probably need help. When our missions went smoothly, it was usually a trap.

Compared to flying, driving is a drag. I dozed off, and was woken by someone shaking my shoulder.

It was Ax. The alarm was beeping, and Erik was already changing lanes. We stopped, this time by some tall bushes.

Ax and I got out, went round them, demorphed, took a moment to rest, and then re-morphed.

Morphing can be physically tiring – the body goes through some pretty big changes, so it's not surprising. But it meant that all the rest I'd had so far was now wasted. So I slept again, and this cycle continued all the way to DC.

Erik parked the car a few streets away from Arnold's house, and turned to address both Ax and me.

"I'm going to stay in the car. I'll use my cloaking hologram, so I won't look suspicious sitting here for days."

"What time are the Yeerks doing their thing?" I asked.

"It's hard to be sure, but probably around midnight, give or take an hour."

"Thank you, Erik. We will see you tomorrow." said Ax.

"Good luck."

We would definitely need it.

We headed towards Arnold's house on foot. Erik had given us directions during the journey, in the those few minutes when I wasn't sleeping.

 _And now he's sitting in the car, while you do the dangerous part_

I tried to ignore that thought.

DC was a busy place, with a lot of cars and people. I was used to the solitude of my meadow, or watching the bustle from afar, so it was a little... claustrophobic for me.

Luckily, I was now able to morph clothes that were acceptable to wear in public, so I didn't stand out much.

Arnold's house was big, with a large garden, quite a few security cameras, but no guards. Not that any guard could protect him from a threat they didn't know existed.

We looked at the house, trying to work out where his bedroom was, which route the Yeerks would take to it, and so on.

I think we may need to morph to get more information. said Ax in thought-speak.

You never know when someone who's every move is dictated by an alien body-snatching slug might be listening.

Yes. What morphs though? I replied.

I believe you are a good observer. You are better suited to watching the house from the outside, and watching people. I will go inside, and find Arnold Hallock's room." he said. And also get the layout of the building. he added.

We looked for a minute longer, before Ax said We need to find somewhere to demorph..

"I saw a good place on the way here." I said out loud. I started walking back the way we had come. I had seen an alleyway, and we could hide behind the garbage dumpsters in it.

We demorphed, and I perched on the dumpster while Ax morphed a dragonfly. Now _that_ is a horrible thing to watch. I don't recommend it.

I will meet you here in two hours. Ax said once the morph was complete.

OK. Good luck, Ax.

Thank you.

Ax took off, and flew chaotically towards the exit for the alley. I take back what I said earlier. Compared to insects, I flew straighter than a ruler.

I flapped hard, and shot into the sky. With all the roads and buildings, there were some awesome thermals, and it took a lot of willpower not to just have fun flying. Instead, I looked for Ax. I spotted him making steady progress towards Arnold's house. He looked tiny, yet I could see the stripes on his abdomen. After forty-eight hours of human vision, hawk vision seemed better than ever before.

Need some directions? I asked.

Thought-speak doesn't usually come with much tone, but Ax seemed surprised.

You can see me? How far away are you?

About five hundred feet above you. I can see your eyes. Hundreds of them.

Dragonflies, like many insects, have compound eyes, which are basically big clusters of simple eyes.

The creatures of earth will never cease to amaze me. I am beginning to understand what Rachel meant when she said 'the Yeerks picked the wrong planet to invade'. he said And I do not need directions, but do tell me if I get lost without realising. This morph wants to head towards water, which makes navigating difficult.

You're on the right course so far. And dragonflies live around water, so that's why you want to find some.

I looked at the house. It looked smaller from above, because although it was wide at the front, it was not deep. It seemed like a cheap politician type thing to do – look good, _be_ not so good.

Or maybe I was just pessimistic.

Ax eventually reached the garden of the house and stopped, hovering.

Is this the correct house?

Yep, you're in the front garden. I banked left and began circling. Ax dropped down and landed on the grass.

I only just thought of this, but there may be biological filters already installed in the doorways. he said.

I don't see how they could install them without being spotted. I pointed out.

You don't think they could override simple human security cameras? He asked with all his Andalite arrogance – even though he was saying _Yeerks_ were superior to humans. But seeing as the Yeerks stole all their technology from Andalites in the first place, I guess Ax was just saying that Andalites are superior to humans.

Good point. But dragonflies have senses the Yeerks know nothing about. You might be able to detect the filters. You can see more of the electromagnetic spectrum than

He took off again and zoomed towards the front door. He hovered in front of it for a moment, bobbing up and down, and then sped to the right to check the windows.

We need to find an insect or other small morph with better eyesight. grumbled Ax as he inspected the window frame. I think two eyes is not enough, but this is the other extreme.

Perhaps song birds. They're small, fast and agile, and probably have good eyesight. I think all birds have good eyesight.

Yes, it does seem to be a trait all avian species share. he said distractedly as he walked up and down the window ledge, looking for alien technology.

I don't think the Yeerks expected us, so they didn't install any filters. Ax said.

Lucky us. Except that actually means unlucky us, because if something has gone right, it's about to go wrong.

Statistically, that seems impossible. Said Ax.

Not even statistics can stop my pessimism.

 **A/N: I'll write more if even one person asks. Just say 'write more'. I have exams at the moment, so it may be while before I have time to write, but no more than 4 weeks.**


End file.
